Knit-a-thon, and a contest to go with it

I have signed up to participate in a knit-a-thon to benefit the Pine Street Inn in Boston, which is one of Boston's largest agencies providing services and shelter to the homeless population of the city. You can find out more about the event and the organization here.

I have committed to knitting 50 9x9 squares for blankets by the date of the final event, when all the knitters will come together to piece the blankets together. The blankets will then be giving to the residents of the shelters and housing units run by the Inn.

Of course, this is both a chance to knit for others who could use the warnth of a blanket, and a fund raiser for the Pine Street Inn, and that's where you come in. I need sponsors for the Knit-a-thon. We're supposed to ask for per-square donations, but I don't think it really matters. If you'd like to donate, you can do it at my online donation page. If you'd rather send Paypal or a check or something like that instead, e-mail me at siercia AT gmail DOT com, and we'll cook up a way to do that.

And please remember, every little tiny bit helps. Even if you can only swing a few dollars, it'll be a HUGE help to the residents and clients served by Pine St. Many people, each doing a small piece can move mountains.

Now, for the contest part.

I have been wildly bless in the past few years (ever since I started knitting, actually) to have won many, many, contests and raffles and the like. Now, I have a chance to turn that around too, and I am excited! So, anyone who donates any amount of money to this attempt (seriously, even a dollar helps) gets entered into a raffle.

I've got three prizes so far, and may well add more as the month goes on, and inspirations strikes.

Prize the first:

A beautiful skein of Sunshine Yarns Sock yarn, colorway Indie


Prize the second:
Two skeins of gorgeous laceweight yarn from "A Touch of Twist" in colorway Admiral


Prize the third:
Winner's choice of a set of stitchmarkers from one of my favorite etsy shops. Her shop is closed at the moment, but if you check out her sold items page, you can see how astoundingly cute her work is.

And the Grand prize? (This is where you can see that I don't really think I'm going to make my goal.) If I make my fund raising goal of $500, one lucky person is going to win a pair of handknit socks, knit by me. Color of the winner's choosing, and delivery after the fund raiser and the holiday knitting is over (so, think mid-to-late-January).

To enter the contest, email me at siercia AT gmil DOT com and let me know that you've donated. When it's all over, I'll draw names randomly to determine the winners.

So, please, if you can spare a little (or a lot), help me meet my goal and help the Pine Street Inn keep people warm this winter. And please, post about this where ever you'd like to help get the word out!